October 2017 – The Storey Tellerhttp://thestoreyteller.online
To Educate and Irritate with what’s really going on in Storey County.Sat, 11 Aug 2018 15:43:52 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.8http://thestoreyteller.online/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/cropped-StoreyTeller-Logo-32x32.pngOctober 2017 – The Storey Tellerhttp://thestoreyteller.online
3232Halloween Activities Planned for Comstock Kidshttp://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/30/halloween-activities-planned-comstock-kids/
http://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/30/halloween-activities-planned-comstock-kids/#respondMon, 30 Oct 2017 15:19:22 +0000http://thestoreyteller.online/?p=1691The St. Marys Arts Center, The Silver Terrace Cemetery and the 4th Ward Schools are teaming up to help Comstock kids enjoy a safe and exciting Halloween on the Comstock Lode. “Our goal is to provide a safe and fun place for the kids to enjoy Halloween. We will have crafts and spooky music for …

]]>The St. Marys Arts Center, The Silver Terrace Cemetery and the 4th Ward Schools are teaming up to help Comstock kids enjoy a safe and exciting Halloween on the Comstock Lode.

“Our goal is to provide a safe and fun place for the kids to enjoy Halloween. We will have crafts and spooky music for the youngsters to enjoy as they trick or treat here on the Comstock.” explained Arika Perry, Director of St. Marys Art Center.

The 4th Ward School will be open until 7:00 pm and can be reached at 775-847-0975

St. Marys Art Center will be open until 10:00 pm and can be reached at 775-847-7774

Silver Terrace Cemetary will be open until 11:00 and can be reached at 775-847-0281

]]>http://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/30/halloween-activities-planned-comstock-kids/feed/0Community Chest Fundraiser at Pipers Opera Househttp://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/26/community-chest-fundraiser-pipers-opera-house/
http://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/26/community-chest-fundraiser-pipers-opera-house/#respondThu, 26 Oct 2017 15:12:37 +0000http://thestoreyteller.online/?p=1684PIPER’S OPERA HOUSE VIRGINIA CITY, NV DOORS 7:30PM SHOW 8PM Friday October 27 Don’t Delay, Get Your Tickets TODAY! Join us for another exciting night of music, friends, and good times at Community Chest’s 2nd Annual Haunted Halloween Fundraising Concert! This year we are proud to welcome THE NOVELISTS for a very special costume party and show at …

PIPER’S OPERA HOUSE

VIRGINIA CITY, NV

Friday

October

27

Don’t Delay, Get Your Tickets TODAY!

Join us for another exciting night of music, friends, and good times at Community Chest’s 2nd Annual Haunted Halloween Fundraising Concert!

This year we are proud to welcome THE NOVELISTS for a very special costume party and show at historic (and haunted!) Piper’s Opera House in Virginia City, featuring their signature storytelling style and four-part harmonies.

Tickets are only $30, and exclusive stage-side Champagne Box Seats as well as silent raffle items will be available for bid. Our shows sell out fast, so make sure to get your ticket today and make it a spooky Halloween night out to remember for a great cause!

Dress as your favorite “Alice in Wonderland” characters in this special Halloween literary-themed show!

Proceeds support CCI programs including the Storey County Community Library and the Classroom On Wheels (COW Bus) mobile rural preschool program.

]]>http://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/26/community-chest-fundraiser-pipers-opera-house/feed/0TRIC Executive Shoves Foot in Mouth – Part Threehttp://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/19/tric-executive-shoves-foot-in-mouth-part-three/
http://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/19/tric-executive-shoves-foot-in-mouth-part-three/#commentsThu, 19 Oct 2017 20:32:28 +0000http://thestoreyteller.online/?p=1677Another Storey Teller post, another slam dance in the mosh pit that is the Virginia City Highlands email chat group with TRIC Project Manager, Storey County Planning Commissioner and Lance Gillman bunkmate Kris Thompson. This time, Mr. Thompson took umbrage with the article we posted about the residence he used to claim county residence. You …

]]>Another Storey Teller post, another slam dance in the mosh pit that is the Virginia City Highlands email chat group with TRIC Project Manager, Storey County Planning Commissioner and Lance Gillman bunkmate Kris Thompson.

This time, Mr. Thompson took umbrage with the article we posted about the residence he used to claim county residence. You can read about the criminal complaint we filed here.

In an effort to divert attention away from the facts, he referred to me as a hyprcrite for calling him out. My response contains facts that shed light into why the TRIC park is a great thing for Northern Nevada but not so great for the Taxpayers and residents of Storey County.

For those of you who don’t bother with the “irrelevant” VCH Chat Group, I’ll post Mr Thompson’s prose, my response and then a few other comments from the peanut gallery.

From Mr Thompson:

This will respond to Mr. Toll.

I hope all the readers see the glaring hypocrisy here…

The Barde/Toll/Carmona cabal has lectured us all for months now about how Storey County should not spend ONE PENNY on economic development. Not one penny. And they always lecture us about how the County helping to create 10,000 jobs out here and $1.6 billion in taxable sales has actually been a stupid move they say….and that all of us are idiots for thinking TRI has been a success for the County. They nitpick and harangue every single financial decision made by the County.

But now they gleefully have filed complaints, apparently in every possible county department, in an effort to “get” or “hurt” Lance and I. This is causing the County to spend massive amounts of payroll time and expense, funded by you good taxpayers,on their personal vendetta to try to hurt Lance and I.

The hypocrisy in this is just rich.

Thanks for considering my post….

I think my good judgment is now reasserting control over my fingers and I hope I can ignore posts from these three in the future…but boy this is a good one to end on as it shows the true colors of this crew….

Thanks for considering my post.

Kris

My reply:

Mr. Thompson

The complaint was filed by me. Mr Carmona and Ms Barde knew nothing about it until they read about it on The Teller. Don’t suggest otherwise as it is disingenuous.

Thinks we are here to nitpick and harangue every financial decision made by the County. As I reminded him at the most recent Commissioners Meeting (which you can read Ms Barde’s dissection of here), words matter. Calling our tax revenue “profit” matters. Not referring to the $50 million Dollar TRIC credit card as “debt” matters.

I would use scrutinize in place of nitpicking. I am looking into the details of the facts to see if they are in the best interest of all county taxpayers or a select few.

I would use criticize in place of harangue. I consider it the duty of every citizen to criticize leadership if they see what they consider to be wrongdoing.

It’s about as bedrock American as it gets.

Since the Comstock Chronicle is nothing more than a collection of pom-pom waving fluffers for Comstock Mining, TRIC and the “leadership” cabal inside the Courthouse, someone has to shine the light of day on the goings on and watch the cockroaches scurry.

If that makes Mr Thompson uncomfortable, that should tell you, kind reader, something…

Here are some facts to consider about this post

1.6 Billion in taxable sales will result in perhaps 5.5 Million to Storey County. 5.5 Million (according to Controller Gallagher) is a GREAT number. However, it represents 0.0034375% of the taxable sales. 3.4 hundredths of a percent. Which means the tax abatements negate any real windfall on these one time, non-recurring sales.

1.6 billion in sales are spectacular for companies around the world, around Northern Nevada and in Reno specifically, but the cash is not spent in Storey County.

5.5 Million in tax revenue is GREAT, but… 35% of that “profit” goes to pay the TRIC Note/Debt/Credit Card/Whatever you call it. So that means we get 3,575,000 of “profit” I mean tax revenue to spend. That represents 0.002234375% of the taxable sales.

According to the Annual Tesla review done by GOED (which you can read here), the Tesla factory employed 896 folks and Panasonic employed 440 folks. They are paid 38.36 per hour. This is GREAT, but how many people from Storey County are employed at Tesla and Panasonic?

According to the same report, there were a remarkable 5947 construction jobs created. This is GREAT, but these jobs will vanish once the construction is done. How many people from Storey County are employed building the GigaFactory?

Again, words matter. Hypocrisy is defined as the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one’s own behaviour does not conform. There is no hypocrisy here. I didn’t run for office. I didn’t commit perjury when I filed my complaint. In order for hypocrisy to occur, I would need to be guilty of the offence I am accusing Mr Thompson and Mr Gilman of.

Mr Thompson has filed public records to request every email from the Sheriff’s office that contained in the email Lance Gilman, Kris Thompson, Roger Norman and TRIC for the last ten years. Every email. Read. Printed. I wonder how much money that cost the good taxpayers. Actual hypocrisy.

Mr Thompson has requested Storey County Sheriff Office incident reports in the proximity of Mustang Ranch for the last ten years to determine if the Sheriff’s Office is conducting systematic harassment of Mustang Ranch patrons (Incidents dropped from the days of Sheriff Miller under Sheriff Antinoro). I wonder how big the massive amounts of payroll, time and expense went into these vendettas? More hypocrisy.

I didn’t have a shred of glee when I filed my report. Disgust was closer to my sentiment.

In my complaint, I am providing facts that reveal the criminal act of lying to the State of Nevada and We The People of Storey County. I insist elected officials follow the law. If that “gets” or “hurts” Mr Thompson or Mr Gilman, I rest my case…

If Mr Thompson would care to debate the above facts, I double dog dare him to.

But since his vow of silence has been once again sworn, the facts can stand.

Sam Toll – Editor

Kris,

If you insist on spewing your propaganda, at least attempt to get your facts right. You chastise up/down/left and right about incorrect facts posted on here but you are the worst about posting untruths. Virtually everything you posted below is incorrect in one way or another but since you’ve been doing it since day one on this Chat Group…most of the readers know better. Keep up your asinine posts, they worked extremely well during the recall.

Jay Carmona

775.691.0251

Kris, with all due respect, here is my concern:

During the recall, the subject of your “residence” came up. It has come up again and it is alleged that the home address you’ve provided is not a residence or even zoned residential. If this is true, how can I, or anyone, believe what you say? For me, this issue has raised a huge red flag toward your credibility. Can you assure me that you and Mr. Gilman actually are roommates and that the address you supplied as your residence is, in fact; 1) your home 2) legally zoned for a residence?

I am not part of some “cabal” or “tin-foil hat” group. I am not playing some gotcha game. I am a Storey county resident asking you a sincere question. I would like to believe you but if the allegations prove true, you will have no credibility with me.

]]>http://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/19/tric-executive-shoves-foot-in-mouth-part-three/feed/3October 17 Commissioner Meeting – Nicole Bardehttp://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/18/storey-county-commissioner-october-17-meeting-nicole-barde/
http://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/18/storey-county-commissioner-october-17-meeting-nicole-barde/#commentsThu, 19 Oct 2017 04:11:17 +0000http://thestoreyteller.online/?p=1658Summary of the October 17th Storey County Commission Meeting IN WHAT CAN ONLY BE DESCRIBED AS AN UNNATURAL ACT OF THE HIGHEST ORDER THE STOREY COUNTY LEADERSHIP WORM HAS TURNED AND IS NOW CONSUMING ITS OWN TAIL. OUR COMMISSIONERS DECLARED IN AN OPEN MEETING THAT THERE HAS BEEN INAPPROPRIATE USE OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS TO LINE …

IN WHAT CAN ONLY BE DESCRIBED AS AN UNNATURAL ACT OF THE HIGHEST ORDER THE STOREY COUNTY LEADERSHIP WORM HAS TURNED AND IS NOW CONSUMING ITS OWN TAIL.

OUR COMMISSIONERS DECLARED IN AN OPEN MEETING THAT THERE HAS BEEN INAPPROPRIATE USE OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS TO LINE THE POCKETS OF A FEW GOOD MEN. THERE WAS A GIGANTIC THINK BUBBLE OVER PAT WHITTEN’S HEAD WITH THE WORDS “ OH SH*T” IN IT.

THE DISCLOSURE COMES ON THE HEELS OF A LONG TIME EMPLOYEE ASKING FOR THE SAME FAVORS THAT HAVE BEEN GRANTED TO OTHERS TIME AND TIME AGAIN ONLY THIS TIME THE DOOR HAD SHUT AND HE WAS DENIED.

THE COMMISSIONERS APPLAUDED THEIR OWN TRANSPARANCY FOR BRINGING THIS TO THE FOREFORONT AND FOR CALLING FOR AN INVESTIGATION BUT FORGOT TO ADD THAT THEY WERE ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL WHILE IT WAS HAPPENING AND COULD HAVE STOPPED IT.

MAYBE WE NEED TO CALL FOR AN INVESTIGATION INTO WHAT THEY DO ALL DAY SINCE THEY REALLY ONLY HAVE THREE DUTIES….SETTING TAXES, CREATING ORDINANCES AND GOVERNANCE.

GOVERNANCE GETS A ZERO TODAY.

OH AND ….STILL NO PROPERTY TAX REBATE/ROLLBACK ACTION FOR THE LITTLE PEOPLE.

By Nicole Barde Bardeblog.com

You can find the Agenda HERE and County Manager Pat Whitten’s summary HERE. If you want to listen to the meeting you can access the recording HERE.

This is a long yet fully packed issue….grab your adult beverage of choice….or just scream into your pillow. This was close to a four hour meeting and despite its spellbinding and edge of the seat moments time passed as if in slow motion for me due to some of the content and the effects of my head cold.

First up was item #15 which was a request (via letter attached below) by Rob DuFresne for the county to buy him a years of PERS service worth $41,346.59. You REALLY need to read this letter since it shows how poor Rob was ping-ponged around. In a nutshell Rob was asking for what he had seen 3 others get when they retired. A bonus of sorts.

All three commissioners couldn’t say enough about how this was inappropriate. How IF this type of payout had been a past practice that they hadn’t been aware of it.

Commissioner Jack McGuffey looked stunned as he said that in the corporate world that maybe a $5000 bonus was appropriate but nothing like this amount and especially to those already making a lot of money and at the top of their departments. He said that he could “go for it” if there were a policy that was retroactive (whatever that means) and was told by DA Langer that no, any new policy enacted would be going forward only.

Commissioner, brothel owner and TRI principal Lance Gilman said that he was only made aware of it that day. He went on to say that this type of appropriation belongs in front of the Commission to approve, that it had never come before the commission in that past and that was wrong. He went on to say that the Unions already have generous benefits and that he does not believe that this should be allowed. He said that a procedure needs to be devised and followed and that these things belong on a line item on the budget for visibility.

Lance said that there were two issues: -the retirement bonus for Rob would set a precedent and they did not want to do that -the inappropriate prior actions need to be looked at.

Commission Chair Marshall McBride commented that the county had indeed done some financial buyouts for early retirements in the past when it produced a savings for the County (i.e. Cheaper to buy a year of PERS than to pay a year of salary till retirement) but that it was for those who weren’t fully vested. Rob was fully vested and Marshall didn’t see the need to do it for him. Marie DuFresne, Robs wife, was there and simply stated that Rob was asking for what he had seen others get and that he felt he deserved it. There was a bit more discussion and the Commissioners said that they are requesting that staff look into this and do an investigation into what has happened in the past.

Marshall turned to County Manager Pat Whitten and asked “Pat, do you want to weigh in on this” and before he could answer Deputy DA Keith Loomis interrupted and said no, that this is a different agenda item.

During Public comment I teleported to the podium to ask if the results of the investigation into the misappropriation of taxpayer dollars would be made public….I then requested that IT BE MADE PUBLIC. No commitment to do so by Marshall.

I then asked how it was that they could all say that they knew nothing since they had approved the three bonuses this year. As always, Marshall reminded me that this was not the agenda item, that the agenda item was whether to approve this bonus or not…..and with that I departed the podium.

SIDENOTE: Who needs drugs and alcohol when you can have mind altering activities like the commission meetings? But I digress….

Needless to say ……. Storey County employees have known for decades that there are “those who get and those who don’t”. Under the Whitten regime the shorthand has been if you “are on the team”. I am stunned not just by the public manner in which this surfaced but by the denials of the Commissioners that they knew about it.

EVERYBODY knew about it. Pat Whitten talked about the need to augment PERS for Hames, Nevin and Haymore in an open meeting. The June 20th and June 30th meeting this year each had budget augmentation discussions where Comptroller Hugh Gallagher spoke about those funds needing to be augmented to pay those PERS bonuses. The Commissioners approved all of the augmentations. And if there is any doubt that it was talked about and that even the uninitiated could figure it out …..below is extracted from the June 30th minutes where Sam Toll asked the question:

9. DISCUSSION/POSSIBLE ACTION: Transfer of Appropriations in the General Budget in the amount of $178,961.00.

Mr. Toll: Mr. Gallagher mentioned at the last meeting there were two items, approximately $50-60,000 for Mr. Hames and Mr. Haymore. We are hearing now about an additional $20,000. Can that be clarified?

Mr. Gallagher: The items for Community Development were for PERS and Medicare.

So, it sounds a bit obfuscated as to what it actually is but it still didn’t feel right…..The augmentation was presented at the June 20th meeting and finalized at the June 30th meeting. If Messrs. Hames and Haymore were receiving $50-60k, and they were fully vested in PERS, highly paid individuals and at the top of their departments…..why didn’t the alarm bells go off with anyone except for Mr. Toll? Where was governance on the part of our Commissioners?

I think that when Rob DuFrense was given the run around and was basically told “no “that his pushing the issue as an agenda item is what brought this to a PUBLIC head. If he had just taken no for an answer and kept quiet then this practice of bonus for my buddies would continue on.

Plausible deniability on the part of the Commissioners only works if it never makes it to the light…this made it to the light. Thanks Rob! I believe that they knew but didn’t WANT to know what Pat was doing.

I have to ask……WHERE WERE THE CHECKS AND BALANCES on Pat Whitten’s ability to just write checks? In the real world Finance and HR have to approve bonuses or out of cycle payroll/benefits checks…what happened here? Do the commissioners read the treasurers reports and the check runs? With two of them being savvy businessmen you’d think that they would notice large bonus/payroll/PERS checks out of cycle. Meanwhile, recall that a couple of meetings ago that Pat Whitten’s job description was being revised? This was at the same meeting where his duties were being expanded to manage the millions of dollars of vouchers at TRI. We haven’t seen that job description again. I thought at the time that they were expanding it and giving Pat more power…now I’m not so sure. I’m not so sure he needs a job description if he’s misappropriating our money….I mean…..what else is being misappropriated?

Whew! But I digress…………..

Both Staff and Board updates were kind of light and the key items are covered in Pat Whitten’s summary.

The Next item was #12, the purchase of Pipers by the County from the school District for $300,500. The Commission approved this and it will need to be approved by the school board before it is finalized.

Todd Hess, SCSD Superintendent, got up to say that the District had purchased Pipers in 2014 for $ 283k when the county didn’t have the money to take on that debt. That since taking it over for events, weddings and other purposes that the District has brought the Pipers operation into the black but that they do not have the resources to continue to run it as before and that it does need a plan to continue to move forward.

Jack mentioned that the private parties who ran it in the past couldn’t generate the revenues to do much more than cover costs…but that it wasn’t enough to do the maintenance that the building required. Marshall noted that the county is in a much better position today to take Pipers back. There are grant writers both at Pipers and at the county that he feels can generate a lot more interest and funding to do what needs doing. He also made note that the fully restored Eureka opera house is one third the size of Pipers and that Eureka had a windfall of money that they decided to use to do the renovations. TINY SIDENOTE:…………..according to Lance we are currently experiencing a gushing, flapping, rolling windfall of economic prosperity from TRI….why doesn’t the county use that prosperity to fix Pipers like Eureka did?

Pat Whitten added that the money for Pipers is coming from some unused and unrestricted funds that the county has from when Toy’s R Us left TRI and had to pay back the concessions that it had been given so that the money to buy Pipers has come from other than resident funds. During Public Comment Kris Thompson TRI and Lance Gilman employee and roommate got up to say that it was a great move by the county and that to preserve our historic treasures like Pipers, St. Mary’s, Fourth Ward and the Fire Museum is part of the role of the county for its citizens. He noted that perhaps the infrastructure fund might be used to fund the much needed work to fix Pipers.

Sam Toll, Gold Hill resident, got up to say that the school district did a good thing to take Pipers over to save it but that he had heard that it would take $2-3 Million Dollars to get done what needed to get done to make it more viable. He asked if the county had a plan for Pipers. He then asked that if there was no concrete plan for Pipers, or other historic properties that the county plans to buy (the Depot) then how could the county be in the business of owning and preserving historic buildings without a viable path to restoration?

I got up to echo the comments of the previous speakers and asked for a commitment to put full faith effort into making Pipers whole again. Next were items #17 and #18.

#17 was amending the Development Agreement with TRI to include the parcels of property that in 2014 the county got Washoe County to move the boundary line for so that Lance could bring them into Storey County where there is a fast track process to build quickly. There is apparently no modification of the Master Plan to do this meaning that these parcels will be zoned exactly the same as its neighboring parcels in TRI.

Jack voiced a concern about allowing business to build butting up against the river bank which risks damaging the bank and its environment and polluting the river.

#18 was interesting….this item was the stipulation that as part of the amended Development Agreement TRI would accept wholly and universally the Storey County Ordinance prohibiting the use of land at TRI to cultivate, test, manufacture, distribute, sell, store, lick, smell, touch, or basically think or dream in the general direction of marijuana.

Sam Toll got up to ask why the heavy handed approach since the voters of the county approved it . He noted that tobacco and alcohol were the 2 biggest threats to public safety and that marijuana isn’t even close to those as threats and is actually a benefit to those who use it medicinally. He was told by Marshall that it is still illegal with the Federal Government. Since Storey County receives funding from the Federal Government that they don’t want to jeopardize that funding. Marshall also noted that out of ALL 15 rural counties in Nevada, none of them have enacted recreational marijuana sales.

Louise Pena, Lockwood resident got up to say that she supported the ban. That there is already a lot of traffic up and down I80 and that this would just add to a bad traffic situation. She also added that there were issues in Colorado as a result of their stand to allow it statewide but she did not elaborate.

It passed.

SIDENOTE: OK, who needs marijuana when you can have mind altering experiences attending Commission meetings?

But really …..our business IS VICE!! We have prostitution, alcohol (a REAL KILLER) gambling and outhouse races for cripes sakes ….the voters of Nevada and this county voted it in. Why outlaw it? Especially when its medicinal properties are so great? Now, there is personal use allowed but there was a hint in the meeting that in a couple of months there will be some more enactions to shore up the anti-marijuana ordinance.

But I digress……

Next up was item #19, a workshop related to property tax relief. Just gotta say it……I want relief from this groundhog day discussion. NOTHING NEW to report that I haven’t already reported. They continue to fluff up our expectations that we are about to be hosed down with abundant TRI dollars, that we may get tax relief, that they are working on it, that the check is in the mail, that the loan is assumable, that these pants don’t make our butts look big and that if we just take this pill our wrinkles will fall off.

I’m sick of it.

During Public Comment Rich Baccus, VC resident, got up to report that the horses were once again causing destruction on his property and that despite the ordinance prohibiting the watering and feeding of the horses in town that he had neighbors who were doing it. He asked for the support of the Commission in managing the horses out of town and in giving citations to those who violate the ordinance. He got agreement that there needs to be more compliance with the ordinance and Deputy DA Loomis will review the ordinance.

Louise Pena, Lockwood resident, got up to say that the horses have pretty much divided the Lockwood community. Some love them some don’t.

I got up at this more appropriate moment to again request that the Commission not bury the investigation into the misappropriation of funds for buddy bonuses. I said that since it has come up in a public forum and it’s our money that the public has a right to know the results of the investigation. Meanwhile, the standard reply when anyone asks about the results of an investigation involving a carbon based life form is “that’s a personnel matter and not public purview”

How much you wanna bet?

Then I HAD to ask “when is a debt not a debt” in response to postings on the VCH chat board from TRI and Lance Gilman employee and roommate Kris Thompson. He had posted the following about the $48 million dollar debt (taken from two communications): “There is no “note” and there is no “debt.”

“TRI and the County have a limited profit sharing agreement for surplus revenue coming out of TRI.”

Since I’ve never heard of owing someone money and not having a debt with that person and I had never considered taxes profits and the utilization of those taxes to pay back a non-debt as profit sharing or surplus revenues not needing a home somewhere else in the county…..my inquiring mind just had to know.

The short answer is that due to the clever way that the Development and public private partnership agreement was written all of the money that Storey County carries in its budget as “TRI PAYBACK” is nothing really. No interest, no note, never have to pay it back if the county doesn’t make over $5 million OVER the expenses out at TRI. But if we do take in over $5 million in tax revenue over expenses then we have to pay TRI back 35 cents on every dollar above the $5million for the non-debt.

This is fortuitous since the County, by statute, cannot carry a debt greater than 10% of the county’s assessed valuation which is $558 Million as of the last report…which means it can’t carry more than $54,541 million in debt. SO…by not calling the “TRI PAYBACK” a debt the county can continue to get other loans and indebted instruments!

Then the bit about the “profit share agreement” and “surplus revenues”……that got shot down by Marshall who said…” I don’t think I’d use the term profit sharing….”

Like I said…..who needs marijuana when you have these meetings…….

Lastly, Sam Toll got up to say that “words mean things” …taxes/fees/licenses are not “profit”….they are revenues paid by residents in this county so that government can do its job of serving the people……not talk about profit.

]]>http://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/18/storey-county-commissioner-october-17-meeting-nicole-barde/feed/1Danny Tarkanian and Dan Schwartz visit Storey Countyhttp://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/18/danny-tarkanian-and-dan-schwartz-visit-storey-county/
http://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/18/danny-tarkanian-and-dan-schwartz-visit-storey-county/#respondWed, 18 Oct 2017 16:30:53 +0000http://thestoreyteller.online/?p=1641On Saturday October 14th, Candidates met on the Comstock to mingle with the unwashed masses. Thirty or so people gathered with elected Storey County officials to share the hospitality of Breck Greninger and share their ideas for how to take Nevada into the next decade. Sheriff Gerald Antinoro led the event by sharing some words …

]]>On Saturday October 14th, Candidates met on the Comstock to mingle with the unwashed masses. Thirty or so people gathered with elected Storey County officials to share the hospitality of Breck Greninger and share their ideas for how to take Nevada into the next decade. Sheriff Gerald Antinoro led the event by sharing some words with the crowd and introducing Dan Schwartz and Danny Tarkanian. Danny Tarkainian addresses the Highlands about the changes he would make for Nevada.

Danny Tarkanian described the differences between his vision of Nevada’s future compared with the record of Dean Heller. He described how he favors the idea of America First that helped get President Trump elected. He talked about the need to retool the Affordable Health Care Act and described his personal account of watching his premiums and deductible jump from $480 a before the “Affordable” Health Care Act was enacted to paying $1400 a month now. “When you pay more for your health care coverage than you do for your house, something is wrong. We need to take the gravy train away from the insurance companies and fix this problem for Nevada’s hard working Middle Class.”

Dan Schwartz talks about ESA’s and the Commerce Tax.

Dan Schwartz explained how Nevadans should be upset with Governor Sandoval’s tax increases on hardworking Nevadans and tax giveaways to Companies like Faraday Futures and Tesla. He opposes the Gross Margin Tax which Nevadans voted down 4-1 and that Governor Sandoval ramrodded through the Nevada Legislature thus ignoring the will of the people. The Gross Margin Tax creates a complicated 26 tier system of taxing a business on the total amount of sales and not taking into account the profitability of the company. Large companies enjoy the 26 tiers that ensure plenty of wiggle room to finagle and loopholes to game the system while the little guys and gals get punked.

Schwartz also said he wouldn’t sign any laws on his desk ahead of a law that paved the way for Education Savings Accounts or ESA’s. The Nevada Legislature came close to making ESA’s a thing at the close of the last session but failed to enact them. ESA’s or School Vouchers are a tool that would allow Nevada Families to send kids to Charter Schools or Home School their children. Naturally, the Teachers Unions and the Nevada School System Administrators vehemently oppose the ESA’s . These two forces have a common interest in extracting more money for themselves while continuing to deliver the lowest test scores in the nation.

Elected officials including Sheriff Antinoro, County Commissioners McBride and Gilman (McGuffey was there for a few moments but left before all three Commissioners were in the same room at the same time) and Justice of the Peace Herrington and Storey County Republican Party Chair Jim Hindle all attended.

Toll Interviews Tark.

The Teller, seen above interviewing Tarkanian, interviewed both candidates. Click on each hopeful’s name to listen to the conversation:

]]>http://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/18/danny-tarkanian-and-dan-schwartz-visit-storey-county/feed/0Teller Files Criminal Complaint with Storey DA, Sheriffhttp://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/16/teller-files-criminal-complaint-storey-county-da-sheriff/
http://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/16/teller-files-criminal-complaint-storey-county-da-sheriff/#commentsTue, 17 Oct 2017 04:40:11 +0000http://thestoreyteller.online/?p=1620On March 28th, 2017, The Storey Teller filed a public record request with Assistant County Manager, Planning Director and all around busy guy Austin Osborne. In this request we asked for the zoning of the Mustang Ranch Compound, specifically to see if any section of the property was zoned residential. This residential zoning inquiry was …

]]>On March 28th, 2017, The Storey Teller filed a public record request with Assistant County Manager, Planning Director and all around busy guy Austin Osborne. In this request we asked for the zoning of the Mustang Ranch Compound, specifically to see if any section of the property was zoned residential. This residential zoning inquiry was the result of previous requests filed with County Clerk Vanessa Stephens and County Assessor Jana Seddon.

We asked Clerk Stephens for the proof of legal residences claimed by Leonard Lance Gilman and Kris Thompson required by Nevada State Law for anyone running for office or holding an appointed office. The request from County Clerk Stephens was fulfilled in one business day. It revealed that Leonard Lance Gilman resides at 5B Wild Horse Canyon Drive and Kris Thompson resides at 56 Wild Horse Canyon Drive.

Since the United States Post Office does not show 5B or 56 Wild Horse Canyon as addresses in their system (they will return any correspondence sent there as “Address Unknown”) we asked Assessor Jana Seddon where these addresses physically were. Her response, delivered in two business days, was remarkable; Lance and Kris reside in a dual wide mobile home located behind the swimming pool at the Mustang Ranch.

Let me say that again.

Lance Gilman, one of the wealthiest men in Northern Nevada, lives in a mobile home behind the swimming pool with his employee and roommate Kris Thompson. At a the brothel.

While many Storey County Resident were born at night, none of us reading this were born last night. Suggesting this is a fact stretches credulity around the planet. Twice.

Must be exciting living in an actual cathouse; think of all the interesting people you meet!

After I learned where County Commissioner Gilman and Planning Commissioner Thompson claim to live, I then sent my public record request to Mr Osborne. As stated above, this request was to determine the zoning of the Mustang Ranch and was filed on March 28. After several back and forth emails, included below, the matter went cold. I saw Mr Osborne on multiple occasions and asked him about the inquiry. I got the usual dismissive reason, “We’re in the midst of the Budget” or “I’m in the middle of revising a statute” or “My dog ate my keyboard”.

During the months of delay on the simple request of what is the zoning of the Mustang Ranch, I decided to stroll into the Community Development Department and ask them. Within 5 minutes I was holding the printout containing the zoning of the Mustang Ranch.

Nowhere on Mustang property is it zoned residential. So nobody can live there. And nobody can claim they live there. In order to live there, the property must be zoned….. residential.

Six months later…

On the six month anniversary of the initial, unfilled, public record request The Teller filed a criminal complaint with Storey County District Attorney Anne Langer and Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt. DA Langer advised me that since I was making a criminal complaint I needed to file the complaint with the Sheriff’s Office before she could proceed.

The purpose of this complaint is to hold accountable County Commissioner Gilman and Planning Commissioner Thompson for committing perjury when they filed paperwork claiming to live somewhere it is illegal to live. Since they took office illegally and since they don’t actually live at Wild Horse Canyon Drive (or anywhere else in the county for that matter) and can’t legally reside where they claimed they did, we conclude and insist they be prosecuted for perjury and removed from office.

My complaint also charged that Mr Thompson was most likely in violation of county ordinance 5.16.220 which reads in part:

5.16.220 Work card registration required.

A. It is unlawful for any person to work as an independent contractor or be employed or for a licensee to employ or allow a person on the premises of a licensed operation, unless the person is the holder of a valid current work card issued by the sheriff. Customers of the brothel are exempt from this requirement.

Because brothel work cards are not public record, I can only make the claim without actual proof. The Sheriff’s Office issues the work cards so they will immediately know if Mr Thompson holds one.

Once the Criminal Complaint is completed I will share the results with you, kind reader.

Below, find the public documents and emails filed with DA Langer, AG Laxalt and Sheriff Antinoro.

]]>http://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/16/teller-files-criminal-complaint-storey-county-da-sheriff/feed/8TRIC Executive Shoves Foot in Mouth – The Storey Teller Helps, Part Twohttp://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/14/tric-executive-shoves-foot-mouth-storey-teller-helps-2/
http://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/14/tric-executive-shoves-foot-mouth-storey-teller-helps-2/#commentsSun, 15 Oct 2017 04:44:32 +0000http://thestoreyteller.online/?p=1610For those of you who read The Teller and do not read the Virginia City Highlands email chat group, this tasty banter happened on Friday the 13th between “Brothel Resident”, TRIC Executive and Storey County Planning Commissioner Kris Thompson. Mr. Thompson once again tasted shoe leather, polished with something other than Shinola, as he responded …

]]>For those of you who read The Teller and do not read the Virginia City Highlands email chat group, this tasty banter happened on Friday the 13th between “Brothel Resident”, TRIC Executive and Storey County Planning Commissioner Kris Thompson. Mr. Thompson once again tasted shoe leather, polished with something other than Shinola, as he responded to The Teller’s pipeline post which you can read here.

Once again, I will put Mr. Thompson’s response to my piece sprinkled with commentary and then my official response.

Fun!

This will respond to Mr. Toll. I’m not going to go through and explain all the false statements in his linked article. It’s virtually all BS. It’s simply 3 pages of tripe. Suffice it to say he is has posted in the past many statements and whole pieces that are just downright lies. When he’s caught doing it, he later claims it’s “satire.” Sure.

(For those not smart enough to know the difference, I end every satire piece with a disclaimer. I usually toss in a VW sized hint in the mix for those smart enough to appreciate humor)

Readers should know that he has no idea about what he’s writing about. None whatsover. But he doesn’t care about facts or accuracy, his only goal is to smear others.

(Actually you can’t make this stuff up, and if the facts smear you, shame on you)

The bottom line is that Mr. Toll (aka “Mr. Smear Merchant”) apparently has nothing better all day to do than write fiction smearing others who are trying to take positive steps in our County and Ms. Barde (aka “Ms. Nancy Pelosi on the Comstock”) want to change this County to make it look more like San Francisco.

(Name Calling = the final refuge of a scoundrel whose argument tank has run dry)

Storey County has succeeded in a true economic miracle, BECAUSE it did things differently. Doing things how San Francisco does it would have blocked, and still will block, any economic development. Our County rose from near bankruptcy with virtually no tax base, and nothing but sand and sagebrush out here, to a County that had $1.6 in (in fully abated) taxable last year in just 17 years. Companies are fleeing California and choosing Storey County because of the exact kind of mindset that Smear Merchant and Nancy Pelosi on the Comstock are pitching. (Actually, it’s because of the giveaway of Storey County Tax Dollars. If the band of merry TRICsters didn’t have our money to play with not one of these businesses would be here.)

And having been involved in every negotiation with the global companies buying land at TRI over the last 7 years, I can say without a doubt that the readers can be thankful that Mr. Smear and Nancy Pelosi on the Comstock were never in a position of authority in this County.

Those companies would have had one meeting with them and walked out and never come back. The meeting with those two would be two hours of nothing but political lecturing and nitpicking with those two. (It would be more like two minutes: No you can’t use our tax money as a crutch to prop up your business plan. Bye Bye Now)

Think about how you would react coming in to meet these two in an initial meeting if you were a small business owner or decisionmaker for a global tech company looking around for a new site. Would you want to do business with these two? Can you imagine? (Can you imagine? Protecting taxpayer interests? The horror!)

There is intense competition to draw businesses into a state and County. They have many, many choices out there. To get the Tesla Gigafactory, little Storey County had to beat out Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California, where their headquarters and first manufacturing facility already is. Jerry Brown threw an offer of $3.5 billion in tax abatements at them. Arizona threw an offer of half priced power forever at them. Rick Perry and Texas offered free land, free power and water infrastructure. You will recall that Rick Perry actually flew into California, loaded into a brand new Tesla and visited the Tesla factory in Jerry Brown’s state, trying to woo them. And will all that, our little County prevailed and it was not even a close race. We prevailed because we are different, and because of the development agreement. That’s the truth these two will never understand. (“Little Storey County”. Aw Shucks! Big Govorner Sandoval’s 1.2 Billion giveaway and lil’ ol’ Storey County)

Readers can be very very proud of the decision making by the County over since the formation of TRI. This public private partnership has created 10-11,000 good permanent jobs and temporary construction jobs in the middle of the desert in a County of 4,000 residents. It’s an amazing feat. So while the Smear Merchant is lecturing all of us, and Ms. Pelosi on the Comstock is nitpicking everything everyone does, thank god we have professionals around who focus on getting things done and creating prosperity. (If it makes you proud to give Billionaires your credit card for cocaine and hookers, that is…)

Thanks for considering my post.

This is in response to Mr. Thompson:

I returned to my piece and realized, to my horror, that all the referenced links lost their blue link-color. That totally explains how Mr. Thompson missed the references to where I found the facts.

I fixed them. Now both Mr. Thompson and you, dear reader, can go back to the article and click on the hot pink links to see my sources for the facts.

I’m not going to go through and explain all the false statements in his linked article.

The reason Mr. Thompson won’t “explain all the false statements” is because he can’t.

There aren’t any.

Everything in the piece came from verifiable fact.

Facts from verifiable sources (including those uttered in the public meeting record by Oracle Thompson himself).

Facts from public records requests.

Facts from interviews with public officials.

Facts from confirmed, provided sources.

If Mr. Thompson would like to debate me on the facts, I double dog dare him to.

I will debate him in a box.

I will debate him with a fox.

I will debate him in a tree.

I will debate him for you see…

The facts stand on their own.

I don’t think for a New York minute any reader with the cranial capacity of a single celled organism doesn’t see Mr. Thompson’s 9 paragraphs anything other than what they are:

Smeary. Blather. Nearly. Void. Of… wait for it….. FACTS.

There are, however, two facts tucked in his scree:

The “miracle” that Storey County has become only benefits people who live in Washoe County; Misters Norman, Thompson and Gilman and the holders of those thousands of “world class” $20 an hour jobs.

The $1.6 Billion in one time, non-recurring, tax abated sales that Lance and his band of merry TRICsters parade up and down C Street will amount to just over $4 million (0.0025% of the $1.6b) of actual revenue into Storey County coffers in FY 2106-2107. As in peanuts. More like peanut shells.

Our payment on the TRICster Credit Card is going to be nearly $5 Million this year.

That means that Lance the Magnificent and his band of merry TRICsters will cost Storey County Taxpayers (us chumps) just about $1 Million dollars in FY 2016-2017! (If you don’t believe me, ask Hugh Gallagher for the facts like I did…)

And this new pipeline will cost us chumps at least another million on top of that for the next 30 years!

No Virginia, there is no satire anywhere near the pipeline that will soon be pumping seaming hot “effluent” up our wallets.

The joke is on us chumps, the taxpayers of Storey County, regardless of what Mr. Thompson smears on our shoes in place of Shinola.

]]>http://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/14/tric-executive-shoves-foot-mouth-storey-teller-helps-2/feed/2Corporate Welfare Checks to Roll into TRIC – Againhttp://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/13/corporate-welfare-checks-roll-tric/
http://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/13/corporate-welfare-checks-roll-tric/#commentsFri, 13 Oct 2017 19:04:42 +0000http://thestoreyteller.online/?p=1590The Governors Office of Economic Development’s (GOED) board meets in mid-November and the agenda contains an item that will consider GOED’s effort to build an effluent pipeline from Sparks to the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center (TRIC). Once built and fully deployed, this pipeline will carry 3.7 million gallons a day of effluent to thirsty server farms installed …

The Governors Office of Economic Development’s (GOED) board meets in mid-November and the agenda contains an item that will consider GOED’s effort to build an effluent pipeline from Sparks to the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center (TRIC). Once built and fully deployed, this pipeline will carry 3.7 million gallons a day of effluent to thirsty server farms installed at Switch and those expected at Google.

The pipeline will be financed by a bond floated with the help GOED and SB1, a bill originally intended to help now defunct Faraday Futures and the APEX business park in Southern Nevada. The proposed pipeline will encumber both State of Nevada and Storey County Taxpayers with a $35 Million bond. The bond touted as an innovative public-private partnership, will augment TRIC’s General Improvement District’s (TRIC-GID) $30 Million loans for improvement to their existing water treatment facility to process the new inflow.

Promoters and Spin Doctors At Work

According to the polished sales pitch crafted by TRIC executive Lance Gilman, GOED assistant director Cory Hunt and stat spinner Jeremy Aguero from Applied Analytics, the bond is expected to be paid for by “future tax revenue from a special tax district taxing new businesses coming into TRIC over the next years.” Yet despite the flowery projections of flush tax revenues, our sources tell us abated taxes from the entire park will have a hard time paying for this bond.

As small government-free market folks, we view the world through the lenses of what’s best for the taxpayers and the community. When we look at this “deal” through those lenses, all we see is cronyism at its best. This pipeline represents another in a tall stack of corporate welfare checks cut by Storey County and Nevada to the wealthy band of merry TRICsters in the desert east of Reno. These TRICsters have used political power, influence and fear to shift the financial burden of legitimate developer expenses from where they belong onto the shoulders of the Storey County Taxpayer. Thanks to GOED, this latest “deal” will now include all Nevada taxpayers onto the list of chumps paying to enrich the pockets of Roger Norman and Lance Gilman

In the rest of the known universe, when a developer proposes a development, one of the first things to happen is an impact assessment. The county or city looks at the proposal and determines what type of infrastructure will be required for this development to be successful. Then the County asks the developer to come up with the money to pay for this infrastructure.

However, as history has shown us time and time again, Storey County doesn’t pay much attention to realities that govern the rest of the known universe.

Before we continue with the pipeline bond discussion, some historical context of TRIC-Storey County is in order…

Since 1859 and the discovery of blue mud, Virginia City has proven to be a place unique to planet earth. In the recent past, Joe and Sally Conforte brought infamy to Storey County when they opened the Mustang Ranch, the first legal brothel in the United States.

In the days leading up to the dot-com bust of 2000, Storey County was on the rocks; it was broke. Joe Conforte was on the lam and The Mustang Ranch was closed; Storey County’s only real revenue stream had run dry. Talks were underway to dissolve the county and scrape it onto Carson City and Washoe Counties.

From out of the desert emerged developers Roger Norman and Lance Gilman. Together they took a pile of cash and started buying land. Lots of it.

They bought the McCarren Ranch and other holdings from Gulf Petroleum just east of Reno. By the time the dust settled, they amassed over 100,000 acres of prime Nevada desert dirt. They had a vision to build the world’s largest industrial park. But to do it they would need help. And that help would come from Storey County.

Lance Gilman bought Conforte’s Mustang Ranch on eBay and got Storey County’s revenue stream flowing again. Building began at TRIC. Talks to split the county quieted.

Things were looking up in Virginia City. And the Norman-Gilman influence was growing. Roger and Lance were seen as saviours of Storey County staving off the imminent dissolution. Parades revelled down C Street.

As TRIC began to grow, Roger Norman forged a remarkable deal with Storey County. Due to the growth at TRIC, Storey County would be expected to provide new Fire, Police and Public Works services the County could not pay for. With a benevolent pen, Norman and Gilman would write checks for the needed services and infrastructure and put that debt on a no interest credit card that would only be paid back when the tax revenue started flowing out of TRI.

Fearing a future that had them losing their jobs by becoming a distant part of Washoe County, Storey County Commissioners signed onto this plan and TRIC began to burden County taxpayers with huge developer infrastructure bills in addition to legitimate county infrastructure expenses.

In the rest of the universe, the County paves a road and digs pipe to the developer’s property line and the developer takes it from there. In Storey County, however, the Commissioners began to make sweetheart deals with County land in order to help out their cronies at TRI. Gilman helped push a selling feature to incoming companies known as fast-tracking; pesky formalities are dispensed with in favor of rapid approvals and inspections.

In a complex land swap shell game that ultimately resulted in the freshly minted USA Parkway. TRIC improved a portion of USA Parkway and gave the County the land and a bill for $25 Million. This should have been a State NDOT expense but at the time the state didn’t have the cash so TRI did it then saddled the County taxpayers with the debt.

In 2012 Storey County voters elected Lance Gilman was as Storey County Commissioner. As Commissioner he solidified his power and control over County governance. Wearing hats on both sides of the negotiating table, Gilman began to lure more businesses into TRIC while delivering on promised concessions at the county level. Things started picking up.

When TESLA and other big-name companies began to move into TRI, the state realized that having USA Parkway completed to HIghway 50 should be a thing. Lance Gilman brokered a deal to sell NDOT the land and right of way so the NDOT could complete its construction. In order to do this he needed the county-owned portion of USA Parkway which, using his position as a freshly minted Commissioner, he got the County Commission to give him back for free.

TRIC then turned around and sold USA Parkway, in its entirety, including the portion it got for free from Storey County to NDOT for $43 Million. Rather than reducing the original debt for building the segment of USA Parkway by $25 Million, Norman and Gilman’s pockets filled with cash and Storey County Taxpayers were left with a pocket full of dirt. And a mountain of debt.

In Storey County, TRIC developer expenses now amount to at least $45 Million (some estimates put the figure at near $60 Million). And while almost all of the record sales taxes Storey County collects from TRIC are abated, repayment on the TRI debt is happening. Thanks to the abated taxes, Storey County cannot pay the TRIC credit card without cutting budgets and services to the citizens, none of whom live in or own a piece of TRIC.

Behind the Scene Water Dealings

This brings us back to the GOED board considering the pipeline bond being on November 18th. This bond is the result of months and months of behind the scene wrangling with TRIC, Switch and Tesla legal staff and a myriad of players in the Truckee River water game. The City of Reno and Sparks, TMWA, TMWRF, TROA, Pyramid Lake Indians, NDOT, Washoe and Storey County and many others have all had arms twisted to accommodate TRIC and their high rolling clients.

The pipeline will provide new and existing businesses at TRIC with plentiful water they need to cool server farms and lubricate industrial processes. Google, Tesla, Switch and Panasonic could collectively float a private bond and pay for their water themselves with the money they drop on the way to the bank.

But because of the failings of Faraday Futures and precedents set by desperate Storey County officials, the burden of this pipeline will shift from where it belongs at TRIC onto the shoulders of Nevada Taxpayers.

This “private-public pipeline partnership” benefits the private partners at the expense of the public. In the free market universe, the one of voluntary exchange of goods and services that mutually benefit all parties, these pipeline bonds would fail.

In the alternate universe that is Storey County, the cronies win and the taxpayers lose. Every. Time.

Soon all Nevadans will be asked to pony up and join Storey County taxpayers the losers table.

]]>http://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/13/corporate-welfare-checks-roll-tric/feed/3Meet The Candidates BBQ In The Highlandshttp://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/11/meet-candidates-bbq-highlands/
http://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/11/meet-candidates-bbq-highlands/#respondThu, 12 Oct 2017 02:29:55 +0000http://thestoreyteller.online/?p=1579Candidates running for office in 2018 will gather in the Virginia City Highlands on October 14th at 1:00. As in years past, Breck Greninger has invited Storey County neighbours to meet and greet elected Nevada State Officers and Candidates. The Storey Teller invites any politically inclined Storey County resident to come out and ask the tough …

]]>Candidates running for office in 2018 will gather in the Virginia City Highlands on October 14th at 1:00.

As in years past, Breck Greninger has invited Storey County neighbours to meet and greet elected Nevada State Officers and Candidates. The Storey Teller invites any politically inclined Storey County resident to come out and ask the tough questions.

Quite a few candidates are up for re-election including DA, Sheriff, Clerk, Recorder, Assessor and Justice of the Peace. The Teller looks forward to seeing some of them at this event.

]]>http://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/11/meet-candidates-bbq-highlands/feed/0CMI Finds $20 Million Investor – Lucerne Pit to Reopenhttp://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/10/cmi-finds-new-20-million-investor-lucerne-pit-to-reopen/
http://thestoreyteller.online/2017/10/10/cmi-finds-new-20-million-investor-lucerne-pit-to-reopen/#respondTue, 10 Oct 2017 18:27:59 +0000http://thestoreyteller.online/?p=1564 The mellifluous tones of Corrado De Gasprias (with puppet strings pulled by the masterful hands of John Winfield) have once again lured another chump into the pit of broken dreams and empty wallets. This time it’s Tonogold Resources. From the October 5th CMI SEC filing (and not the flowery press release passed around …

On October 3, 2017, Comstock Mining Inc. (the “Company”), entered into an Option Agreement (the “Agreement”) with Tonogold Resources, Inc. (“Tonogold”). Under the terms of the Agreement, Tonogold will have the right to participate in certain activities, including but not limited to, engineering, development, drilling and test-work, towards completing a technical and economic feasibility assessment on certain properties within the Company’s Lucerne resource area (the “Lucerne Property”), and if all obligations and prerequisites are satisfied and subject to compliance with the Agreement, Comstock and Tonogold may effect a joint venture for the future development and mining of mineral resources on the Lucerne Property.

Under the terms of the Agreement, Tonogold can earn a 51% interest in the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Comstock Mining LLC, which owns the Lucerne Property, by making capital expenditures on the Lucerne Property of $20 million prior to 42-months following signing of the Agreement and payments of $2.2 million to the Company. The initial payment of $0.2 million was paid immediately with another $2 million within 6-months, in the event that Tonogold elects to extend the option. In addition, Tonogold is granted the option to purchase 51% of certain equipment and property located at the Company’s American Flat property for a purchase price of $25 million. If Tonogold does not elect to extend the option beyond the initial 6-months, it will be required to make a further payment to Comstock equal to $1 million less actual costs incurred on the Lucerne Properties during the initial 6-month period.

With this news and the previous announcement that Comstock Mining Inc plans to pursue mining operations towards Dayton means that once again industrious dust borne from the wallets of swindled dreamers will be wisping throughout the Comstock.

For the record, below is the tale of woe that is the track record of Mr. De Gaspries, Mr. Winfield, and CMI:

Spoiler Alert: They have lost $ 182 Million perpetrating the most magnificent hustle on the Comstock since forever.

The below information came from the Securities Exchange Commission; the trail of tears can be accessed here…